Anne Sexton papers

The collection consists of three boxes of material, primarily from 1974 or later. The correspondence consists of seven letters, all from 1974, but only three written by Sexton. Series II is a collection of 41 poems in onion-skin typescript carbons, 12 of which are unpublished. Most of the 29 published poems appear in 45 Mercy Street (1976), and the remainder are published in Complete Poems (1981) or Last Poems (1981). These 41 poems were all written in the last nine months of Mrs. Sexton’s life, during which time Barbara Schwartz was her therapist. One of the poems was dictated by Sexton to Schwartz over the phone after a nearly successful suicide attempt. Most of the poems have few edits or changes. Series III, Miscellaneous, includes Sexton’s debut performance as a reporter, covering the July, 1974 concert by Ella Fitzgerald. Series IV is a sampling of her poems published in periodicals, while Series V and VI consist of published material by other authors relating to Anne Sexton, the bulk of which were published after her death. Series VII consists of audiotapes of poetry readings. Note: Box 2 is flat oversize, and Box 3 is a cassette box.

Extent

Overview

The Anne Sexton Papers were compiled by Sexton’s therapist during the last nine months of her life. The collection offers a glimpse into the mind of the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, a mind tormented by suicidal thoughts, depression and bipolar disorder. Onionskin carbon copies of her published and unpublished poetry from 1974 reveal both the depths of her despair and the eloquence with which she expressed it – before she finally ended her life on October 4, 1974. Also included in the collection are published materials from both before and after Sexton’s death, letters, and audiotapes of Sexton’s poetry.

Biographical / Historical

Anne Sexton (nee Anne Gray Harvey) was born in Newton, Massachusetts, on November 9, 1928. She went to Roger’s Hall boarding school in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1945, and then attended Garland Junior College for one year before marrying Alfred Muller Sexton II at age nineteen. She modeled for Hart Agency in Boston for a time. Her first daughter, Linda Gray Sexton, was born in 1953.

In 1954, Mrs. Sexton was diagnosed with clinical depression. After her second daughter, Joyce Ladd Sexton, was born in 1955, Anne suffered another mental breakdown. She was hospitalized, her children were sent to live with her husband’s parents, and she attempted to commit suicide on her birthday. During this tumultuous period in her life, Dr. Martin Orne became Sexton’s psychiatrist. He convinced her to take up poetry, an interest she had stumbled upon but not seriously cultivated while in school.

During her first poetry class, at the Boston Center for Adult Education in the fall of 1957, Anne became friends with the poet Maxine Kumin, who would remain her friend, literary partner and editor. Also in 1957, she met W.D. Snodgrass at the Antioch Writers’ Conference, who became a mentor to her. She developed a style of confessional poetry similar to that of Sylvia Plath, Snodgrass, and Robert Lowell, and centered on such themes as the experiences of being a woman, addiction and drug use, sexuality, and her suicidal impulses.

Sexton published her first book of poetry, To Bedlam and Part Way Back (1960), only three years after writing her first verse. She won the Pulitzer Prize in 1967 with her book Live or Die (1966). According to Maxine Kumin, poetry allowed Sexton to endure living with depression for as long as she did. Anne and Alfred Sexton’s marriage collapsed in 1973. On October 4, 1974, after having lunch with Maxine regarding editing her new book, The Awful Rowing Towards God, Anne Sexton committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into seven series: I. Correspondence, 1974; II. Poems, Published and Unpublished, from 1974; III. Miscellaneous; IV. Periodical Appearances; V. Clippings; VI. Audio Recordings. Box 1 is an archival box, box 2 is a flat oversize box, and box 3 is a small box for casettes. Both boxes 1 and 3 are located with the rest of the c-collections, in the first bank, while box 2 can be found in shelf 57 of the third shelf together with the rest of the oversize c-collection.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The Anne Sexton Papers were compiled by Sexton’s therapist during the last nine months of her life. They were sold by George Robert Minkoff, Inc., Rare Books, of 26 Rowe Road, Alford, MA 01230, to Robert Buckeye, Special Collections Curator of Middlebury College, on December 31, 1993.

Related Materials

The Abernethy Collection of American Literature, Special Collections & Archives holds many of Anne Sexton's works. (See: Sexton, A.)